IH Ch 161

Chapter 161

“How unsurprising.”

Jae-i had already been aware of the collusion between the former Association President and Lee Myunghwan. It was the very reason he’d warned Kim Wi back when Kim had grabbed Dohwa and tried to threaten him—telling him outright that if he insisted on acting that way, Jae-i also had plenty he could expose.

There had long been speculation that the once–mere cult leader Lee Myunghwan wouldn’t have suddenly acquired hunters, meddled in gate affairs, and expanded his influence without someone coaching him from behind the scenes. He had ties to political and financial elites, yes—but that was only the surface.

The fact that Lee had abruptly moved to an island and created a world of his own was also made possible because he had strong backing. Everyone pretended not to know, but the truth was obvious: Lee had grown fat on support from the government, the Association, and conglomerates. And because the size of the ship determines the size of the ego, he must have believed himself to be something grand. He had tried to split from them and forge his own path, only to fail spectacularly. For all his posturing, he had remained nothing more than a con artist.

Park Guwon—who had the reputation of being competent but problematic—was forced to step down in a hurry, and Kim Wi became Association President. There was a hidden reason for that: Kim had taken over the Association cleanly in exchange for preserving Park Guwon’s honor.

Jae-i knew well enough how filthy things were behind the curtains of power. Honestly, as long as it didn’t harm him directly, he never cared. That had been his mindset—but now, it seemed something had changed. Seeing Lee Myunghwan standing next to Park Guwon made his stomach churn.

Watching Jae-i grow calmer by the second, Park Jaehwan scratched his chin. Just a moment ago he’d thought, Yep, still a brat, but it seemed the kid had matured a little in the past few days. He handed over a few more photos.

“Connections that started under the former president wouldn’t break that easily, right? Turns out one of Lee Myunghwan’s people was still around—right beside Kim Wi, no less.”

The additional photos featured Mason. His face hadn’t changed much, still frustratingly handsome, though his clothes made it clear this was from his younger days. Standing next to Lee Myunghwan, smiling a manufactured smile, he looked far too familiar.

“How unpleasant,” Jae-i muttered.

“Right?”

Jae-i glared at Mason. How had that man known so much about Dohwa? Was it because of this? Had Mason known Dohwa since the days he’d stuck to Lee Myunghwan like a shadow?

His gaze grew calmer and calmer as he stared at the photo—but the red flecks in his pupils only grew sharper, more terrifying. Even Jaehwan felt goosebumps and quickly flipped the photo facedown.

“Hey, don’t go killing him or anything. That bastard’s a big shot now.”

Hwang Jae-i had a fiery streak, but he wasn’t stupid. Jaehwan didn’t truly believe he’d try to take Mason one-on-one… but the expression earlier had been chilling.

“Excuse me.”

Just then, Hyejin brought over the coffee. She set the iced and hot cups beside Jaehwan and placed the additional items on the table. She glanced at Jae-i.

“This one’s on the house.”

Before him was a peach ade, packed with thick slices of peach, looking fresh and sweet. Not wanting to interrupt their conversation, Hyejin also walked over to give Dohwa his own peach ade, telling him softly to enjoy it. Hearing Dohwa murmur a quiet “thank you,” Jaehwan picked up his hot coffee.

“Man, the service here is amazing. Feels like I’m the only one actually paying for anything.”

“……”

Jae-i deliberately lifted the peach ade and took a sip. At nearly the same time, Jaehwan drank his coffee and let out a small, impressed “Oh,” turning around.

“Ma’am, this is excellent. Really delicious.”

Hyejin nodded politely from inside and headed back to work. Watching her retreat, Jaehwan straightened his posture.

The village elders who had immediately gone on alert the moment he pulled up in the general-goods truck, the shop owners, the café manager—everyone here took care of Jae-i. His decision to move the guild base to this place had seemed random, but maybe there was something he didn’t know. Lowering his coffee, he spoke.

“So what you’re saying is Mason might be the Association President’s weak point.”

“Is he a weakness… or is he something the President has already decided to ‘process’ before it becomes one?”

“……”

Kim Wi was extremely satisfied with his position as Association President. He wouldn’t tolerate anything that threatened his authority. When Jaehwan had recently visited the Association, Mason had been there too. There hadn’t seemed to be any conflict between them—but one could never be sure.

“Looking at everything the President’s doing, it’s hard to say he’s being dragged around against his will because of Mason. He wanted something like this.”

“……”

Jaehwan opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it and took a drink of iced coffee. Being in such a remote place, he hadn’t expected much, but the flavor was surprisingly good. At least the quality of the coffee was keeping his stress levels manageable. He sighed deeply.

He wasn’t someone who sided with anyone without reason. He couldn’t fully back the Association President in this mess, but he also couldn’t oppose him recklessly when the consequences would be enormous.

“Strange how quiet it’s been, considering what happened yesterday.”

“……”

“I thought they’d be sending out special editions first thing this morning.”

The operation led by Hwang Hajin had been a success—at least on the surface. There had been plenty of witnesses, and yet the situation remained oddly silent. Why? Maybe the government officials wanted to keep it quiet and share information only among themselves.

Impossible. If anything, government types would be fighting to announce such a monumental event and get their names written into history. So if things were this quiet…

“Maybe they realized something wasn’t right.”

Muttering to himself, Jae-i looked at Jaehwan.

Jaehwan hadn’t been there the previous day, but that didn’t mean he knew nothing. Jae-i’s eyes clearly asked whether he had received additional intel. Scratching his head, Jaehwan glanced around, then leaned forward onto the table and murmured:

“Use your skill?”

“……”

Wondering what kind of nonsense this was, Jae-i nodded anyway. As if waiting for that cue, a barrier formed around them, sealing off all sound and information. Only then did Jaehwan speak.

“Looks like Hwang Hajin tried to draft a contract. He shoved in every advantageous clause he could dream of, saying all ownership and usage rights related to that skill—‘Gate Erasure’—belonged exclusively to him.”

“……”

“At first, the other side acted like they’d accept everything, but then they realized it made no sense. If they agreed, they’d be left with nothing. And you know how shrewd those people are—they always make sure to protect their own plate of food. No way they’d accept something like that.”

So that was the reason. Not surprising at all. That man was exactly the type to pull a stunt like that. Jae-i had thought he would demand the presidency or something equally ridiculous in exchange for his absurdly named skill, Gate Erasure, but it seemed his ambition had cooled during his time abroad. He must have realized that tightening people’s throats through a contract was a far better way to get what he wanted.

Imagining the faces of those who had expected golden eggs, only to be confronted with Hajin’s monstrous demands, made Jae-i laugh aloud. Seeing him laugh, Jaehwan scowled.

“Laughing? This isn’t funny. It’s bad. Really bad. Well… not our problem though.”

Since they hadn’t been there, it was nothing more than a fire on the far side of the river.

Crossing his legs, Jaehwan took a long drink of his coffee, then let out a hollow laugh. The small chuckle grew louder as he shook his head.

“Wow. Just… wow. How rotten can people get?”

If that skill were truly real, it was monumental. A once-in-a-lifetime chance to return to a world free of gates. Yet even now, greed was their only priority.

“To hell with the gates—they don’t care. All they want is to fill their pockets.”

He had dealt with these kinds of people for so long he thought he’d grown numb. Apparently not. Scowling as he lifted his head, Park Jaehwan nearly jumped out of his seat.

Because Dohwa was standing right behind the barrier, quietly watching.